Thaddeus Young Is Heating Up

Thaddeus Young went 12-15 from the floor for 24 points Friday night against the Pistons. Available in over fifty percent of leagues nationwide he just may be what you’re looking for if you need points and steals.

Analysis: Does five consecutive 18 plus point games interest you? It should and he’s doing more than just scoring. Young has averaged five rebounds and one steal per game in that same five game span as well as shooting over 65 percent from the field. This is the time of year in the fantasy world where you have to ride the hot hands to a championship and Thaddeus Young may help you get there. He doesn’t contribute much in the three department but he’s shooting 73% from the stripe and his minutes are just under thirty a game. Young needs to be on the floor for the Sixers if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive and Young should be hitting the thirty minute per game mark from here on out.

Projection: Expect 15-19 PPG, 5 RPG, more than 1 SPG and solid field goal and free throw percentages the rest of the year.

What is Happening with Deron Williams?

The Jerry Sloan situation was pretty messed up but never in my wildest dreams think that Utah would trade away their star player.

Analysis: Deron has been one of the top point guards in the league this season, putting up his best number yet. Before the trade Deron was averaging over 21 points and almost 10 assists a game. Throw in his respectable shooting percentages for a point guard and Deron is easily a top 10 fantasy player in this league. New Jersey does not have the talent on its roster that Utah had and I expect this to impact Deron in a few different ways. I expect Deron will improve his scoring, because he no longer has Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Millsap, and Al Jefferson on his team to pass to, and will thus take more of his own shots. I don’t think his assists will drop that significantly either, mostly because of Brook Lopez. While Lopez’s rebounding has fallen off the map his scoring has gone up a little more and I expect it to climb even further with Deron dishing out assists. I still don’t know why Utah gave up such a star player when he still had 2 years left on his contract, but the Sloan situation and the trade suggest that perhaps something is amiss with the great point guard.

Projection: I think as the season progresses we’ll hear more about the Deron/Sloan situation and I don’t think it will shine a nice light on Deron. However he will continue to put up the stats he always has, and with his ability to stay on the court, owners of Deron Williams have nothing to fear.

SPLITS: John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Scott Baker, Bronson Arroyo, Javier Vazquez

Issue: Over the last 3 seasons 29 pitchers have won 36 games or more. Only 5 had cumulative ERAs over 4.00: John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Scott Baker, Bronson Arroyo, Javier Vazquez. Which ones should we pursue in 2011?

Facts: Arroyo is the only one to have a credible 2010, so he got a 3 year $15 million contract extension, but it was a busy off-season for all 5. Following his first season at Fenway Park Lackey lost 15 pounds, while Vazquez has fled the Bronx for south Florida in 2011. Santana has added a split-finger fastball; Baker had surgery. Let’s go back and look at 2010.

Analysis:

Lackey
Split W L ERA IP HR WHIP SO/9 SO/BB
1st Half 9 5 4.78 113 10 1.602 5.4 1.48
2nd Half 5 6 3.97 102 8 1.216 7.8 3.3
Santana
1st Half 8 7 3.76 122 15 1.303 7.4 2.78
2nd Half 9 3 4.11 100.2 12 1.341 6.2 1.86
Baker
1st Half 7 8 4.87 109 17 1.312 7.8 5
2nd Half 5 1 3.82 61.1 6 1.402 7.8 2.21
Arroyo
1st Half 9 4 4.04 120.1 13 1.23 4.3 1.41
2nd Half 8 6 3.68 95.1 16 1.038 5.9 3.5
Vazquez
1st Half 7 7 4.45 95 15 1.221 7.6 2.11
2nd Half 3 3 6.64 62.1 17 1.668 5.9 1.52

 

2011 Projections:

Hurler W ERA WHIP K IP
Lackey 12 4.09 1.35 135 181
Santana 12 3.99 1.30 139 174
Baker 11 4.15 1.27 139 169
Arroyo 13 3.98 1.26 122 190
Vazquez 10 4.27 1.27 141 161

 

{6-4-3 Assists to Baseball-Reference and Marcel}

NBA: Deadline Impact

The decks have been re-shuffled and its a race to the finish in the Association!

For months we heard rumors of the final destination of Carmelo Anthony.  New York,  New Jersey, back and forth, who would it be.  As the world knows, the Knicks won the prize, but across the river, it was the Nets setting the bar with a shocking trade for mega point guard Deon Williams.  The Williams deal surprised everyone, no rumors, mock salary cap experts making it balance. Simply done deal.

How did the projected playoff teams fare? We start atop the Atlantic Division with Boston.  Not unlike The Deron Deal, The Celtics surpised the NBA world by shipping their big body in the middle, Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City. It was certainly no secret the C’s wanted a reliable swing man to back up Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, but not by parting with the blue collar glue that bonded the four All-Stars together.  From a fantasy perspective don’t expect the numbers to change much. Perkins will continue to rebound and man the middle, while Jeff Green’s shots will be limited for many of the same reasons he had to share in Oklahoma. Atlanta was the other big mover in the East. The Hawks finally getting a point guard that can do it all. Kirk Hinrich brings leadership, a strong on ball perimeter defense and the ability to both distribute and score.  Hinrich’s assist numbers should explode and Atlanta’s big three of Joe Johnson, Al Horford and Josh Smith should see increased scoring numbers across the board. Out West, watch out Lakers, yes that Thunder you hear in the distance is coming from Oklahoma.  Not only did OK City acquire Perkins but another big body in Nazr Mohammed.  Nazr won’t bring you any fantasy numbers, but does bring the body to help Perk bang the Duncan’s, Dirk’s and Gasol’s of the West. Portland pulls in best supporting actor out West, adding the mercurial Gerald Wallace. Wallace will continue to stash multiple fantasy categories and provides some insurance for the hobbled Brandon Roy. Like New Jersey in the East, Denver did what it had to do to salvage value for Deron getting a future fantasy stud in Derrick Favors. For now, Devin Harris assumes Williams’ assists while Favors continues to develop. The focus now shifts from the trade chat rooms to the court for what promises to be one of the more anticipated post-seasons in years.

Adrian Beltre Shelved With Grade 1 Strain

The Rangers’ $96 million dollar man is expected to miss up to two weeks of Cactus League games with a strained right calf muscle.

Analysis: Injured before he reported to Arizona, Beltre’s MRI on Thursday revealed a mild strain. This certainly does not sound serious, as nothing was torn and test results revealed no other issues in the calf area. The team has already stated that Beltre’s Opening Day status should not be affected by this minor setback, and it appears that this is simply a case of being overcautious with a very expensive commodity. Adrian has never missed time with a calf issue in the past, so there is no worry here about a chronic or recurring injury.

Projection: When it comes to a player with Beltre’s prowess on both sides of the ball, any type of injury can put a scare into Fantasy owners. There is minimal reason for fear this time, though, as Adrian should get back to baseball activities by the end of next week and will hopefully see some game action by March 11 or earlier. Although he has a brief history of putting up huge numbers in contract years (see 2004 and 2010) and then disappointing thereafter, I do believe his lean seasons in Seattle are permanently in the rear view mirror. Beltre’s 2010 All-Star campaign was not an aberration, and being surrounded by the likes of Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz should serve him well. Some skeptics have attributed his impressive figures last year to playing in Fenway, but the fact is he was actually better on the road in every relevant category. Beltre may not reach a .321 batting average again, but you can still count on him for 25-30 home runs, 38-45 doubles, and between 85-95 runs batted in.